Tweaking Your Withholding Taxes: Filing a New W4 Form with Your Employer

Remember filling out a W-4 form when you were first hired? It’s the form that determines how much money your employer withholds from your paycheck to pay federal and state taxes—based upon the number of “allowances” that you claimed.

However, have you checked to see if it’s still applicable? Consider adjusting your W-4 form if the following applies:

You owed the IRS money – You may want to have more money withheld from your paycheck. In fact, if you owe too much, the IRS can assess you and add a penalty for not depositing enough money into your account.

You’ve experienced a “life change,” such as:

Marriage

Divorce

Birth or adoption of a child

Purchase of home

Refinance of mortgage

Retirement

You expect to earn money from your home-based business or other source that does not withhold income taxes from the check.

You have a change in itemized deductions

Medical expenses

Gifts to charity

Dependent care expenses

Education credits

Child tax credit

To INCREASE the amount of taxes from your paycheck, you will need to DECREASE the number of dependents. You can also specify a dollar amount—like $50 per pay period. Likewise, to have LESS money deducted, INCREASE that number.

I recommend that you check your withholding every year—right after you’ve filed your income tax return. The IRS offers a withholding calculator at www.IRS.gov and you’ll need your most recent tax return and current paycheck stub. Or, ask your tax preparer to help you adjust your withholding so you don’t owe too much—or get a large refund from the IRS—at the end of the year.

If you are looking for a tax preparer or CPA, please let me know because I work with many excellent professionals for you to choose from.

About Wade Betz

Wade joined Guardian Mortgage in January 2006 as a vice president of sales and branch manager at ourDallas, Texas location.

Wade has a message for Guardian’s customers. There’s more to a mortgage than the close. Wade, like his Guardian counterparts, understands that a job well done is a job that lasts the duration of the home loan. Counsel, support and personal service are paramount to becoming a trusted mortgage advisor for Guardian’s clients.

Your local Dallas mortgage lender. Call us at 469-906-2522 to learn more.

Hear what people are saying about us:

We could not have had a better experience with the Betz Team and Guardian Mortgage. My husband and I were wrestling with a big bank loan, and after a lot of back and forth and unresponsiveness, we decided to switch to the Betz Team. Boy, what a difference! Wade, Felisa, Nat...

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We could not have had a better experience with the Betz Team and Guardian Mortgage. My husband and I were wrestling with a big bank loan, and after a lot of back and forth and unresponsiveness, we decided to switch to the Betz Team. Boy, what a difference! Wade, Felisa, Natalia, and Patrice are amazing and walked us through every step of the process. As first-time home buyers, we received the guidance and knowledge we needed. The customer service of the Betz Team is superior and we completely trusted them to help us through this important financial decision.

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- Katie

It was absolutely a pleasure working with Guardian Mortgage and the Betz Team; this is our fifth mortgage with Guardian, and the experience was just as smooth and expeditious as the very first time. The entire staff at Guardian was always so cheerful, responsive, courteous ...

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It was absolutely a pleasure working with Guardian Mortgage and the Betz Team; this is our fifth mortgage with Guardian, and the experience was just as smooth and expeditious as the very first time. The entire staff at Guardian was always so cheerful, responsive, courteous and knowledgeable; it truly eased the stress that such a potentially stressful process can create!

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- Harris

The Betz Team was phenomenal in helping us buy our house. From the beginning when we needed help with our offer letters to then providing a quick close, The Betz Team made sure that we were taken care of. I will recommend them to anyone that is in need of mortgage services....

The Betz Team was phenomenal in helping us buy our house. From the beginning when we needed help with our offer letters to then providing a quick close, The Betz Team made sure that we were taken care of. I will recommend them to anyone that is in need of mortgage services. 10 STARS!

- Laura

We are thrilled to have obtained our mortgage through Wade Betz and his wonderful team at Guardian! I would thoroughly recommend working with him and Natasha and all the others who helped our loan go through. Their web portal was easy to upload documents to and when I had t...

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We are thrilled to have obtained our mortgage through Wade Betz and his wonderful team at Guardian! I would thoroughly recommend working with him and Natasha and all the others who helped our loan go through. Their web portal was easy to upload documents to and when I had the inevitable question I was able to contact someone and get my answer quickly. I'm also happy to keep our mortgage locally here in Texas.

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- Heather

Great service, friendly staff, smooth transaction, as always! Wade is very pleasant to work with, as well as those on his team! He stayed in touch with me at each step along the way and he keeps in touch with us throughout the year as well with helpful tips, recipes and of ...

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Great service, friendly staff, smooth transaction, as always! Wade is very pleasant to work with, as well as those on his team! He stayed in touch with me at each step along the way and he keeps in touch with us throughout the year as well with helpful tips, recipes and of course the Dallas Cowboys game schedule magnet for the fridge! Thanks for everything! I tell everyone how much I have loved working with Guardian Mortgage Co.